Year: 2026 | Month: June | Volume 13 | Issue 1
Genetic Parameters and Secondary Trait-Based Selection for Drought Tolerance in Maize Hybrids
Dhanalakshmi
T.N. and Shashidhara
N.
DOI:10.30954/2347-9655.01.2026.2
Abstract :
Maize productivity in drought-prone regions of Karnataka is seriously constrained by climate change and diminishing water availability. The present study was carried out at Agricultural Research Farm of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during kharif season to determine genetic variability, trait association and access role of secondary traits in drought tolerance in maize hybrids. The 50 maize hybrids were tested in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications under well-watered and managed drought stress conditions. Observations were recorded for important morpho-physiological and yield-related traits including days to 50 per cent silking, anthesis-silking interval (ASI), plant height, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, kernels per row, 100-grain weight, and grain yield. Significant difference between the genotype, environments and genotype × environment interaction were observed for all traits by analysis of variance, showing that great genetic variability exists among the hybrids. High GCV and PCV were observed for grain yield (21.84% and 23.12%), ASI (18.64% and 20.42%), and 100-grain weight (16.92% and 18.11%), suggesting wider variability and better scope for selection. The grain yield showed high heritability (89.3%) and high genetic advance (42.54%) which reflected that the additive gene action is dominant. Grain yield was highly correlated with RWC (0.74), kernels per row (0.79), chlorophyll content (0.67), and 100 grain weight (0.72), while ASI was highly correlated with negative value (-0.71). Path coefficient analysis showed all three characters had high positive direct effect on grain yield; kernel per row showed direct effect 0.48, RWC 0.42 and 100 grain weight 0.37 and ASI showed negative direct effect (-0.58). The study revealed that reduced ASI, 100-grain weight, kernels per row, chlorophyll content and RWC are important secondary traits that can be used for better drought tolerance in maize hybrids.
Highlights
- Significant genetic variability was observed among maize hybrids for drought adaptive traits.
- Relative water content, kernels per row, and 100-grain weight showed strong positive effects on grain yield under moisture stress.
- Reduced anthesis-silking interval was identified as an effective secondary trait for drought tolerance selection.
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